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One of the more unexpected shifts in media habits during the pandemic, at least for me, has been a new interest in those little bird-box book libraries that inhabit front lawns in the quieter neighborhoods here. I regularly pass a dozen of them on a circuit of five or six miles around Santa Monica and Brentwood…

This week, a very old recording industry tradition took center stage. We’re talking, of course, about the answer song. Answer records are songs that “answer” a previous recording by a different artist, sometimes directly addressing a specific incident, other times playing off its themes. The novelty has been around…

Larry King, the iconic and multi-award winning U.S. television and radio host, has died at the age of 87. King’s death was announced on his Twitter page on Saturday morning by Ora Media, the studio and network he co-founded. He died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles weeks after it was revealed that he…

NBC Universal will shut down sports channel NBCSN by the end of the year, with several prominent events – most notably, the National Hockey League to USA Network – sent to other properties. The move was announced Friday by NBC Universal.. "At the conclusion of 2021, we have decided that the best strategic next step…

Disney Executive Chairman Robert Iger praised the incoming presidential team in a late tweet today, “Today was a great day in our nation, as President Biden & Vice President Harris assumed their roles with dignity, humility, a strong adherence to values & to the weighty responsibility of high office. We congratulate…

UPDATED: The nation’s Inauguration Day activities culminated Wednesday night with Celebrating America, a primetime special that will be simulcast across ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN and MSNBC. The 90-minute special begins at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT and will be hosted by Tom Hanks, with remarks from President Joe Biden and Vice…

ABC News has unveiled a series of new assignments in Washington, with Cecilia Vega promoted to chief White House correspondent and Jonathan Karl launching an interview show for ABC News Live. All of the networks have been reshuffling beats with the change in administrations. In addition to ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN all…

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he had planned to attend Joe Biden's inauguration but won't now, preferring to stay close in case of demonstrations at the state Capitol building in Albany. At a press briefing Monday, Cuomo also said New York's Covid-19 cases are falling after a holiday surge. But clamor for the…

Though renowned for his music, Phil Spector also harbored an ambition to direct and produce movies, and in 1966 asked me to drop by his house so he could explain his plan. At the time, I was a reporter covering politics for The New York Times in Los Angeles and had met Spector at a political party. Spector, then 25…

Defending his company’s takedown of the controversial Parler app from his online store, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Fox newsman Chris Wallace today that he doesn't believe freedom of speech and allegedly provoking violence intersect. Apple, Google, and Amazon Services all took the Parler app offline after the protests…

Award-winning India TV journalist Nidhi Razdan revealed Friday that she was duped into believing she had been hired by Harvard University. Razdan was a news anchor at top station NDTV for 21 years, but said in June she was leaving to take a job as an associate journalism professor at Harvard. But on Friday, she told…

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar fired back on Friday night at CNN, claiming its report that he resigned because of the Jan. 6 Capitol takeover was wrong. "Contrary to the @CNN chyron, I am still here serving the American people at HHS," Azar tweeted after the CNN report. "I believe it is my duty to help…